Power Play Series: Energy & Electric Utilities

June 21, 2007 | Electric utility companies across the country say that the Senate energy bill, if signed into law, could prove a crippling financial blow to the individual companies and their customers alike. The bill, which contains a provision to create a nationwide renewable energy standard, would require that utility companies generate 15 percent of their power from renewable energy sources by the year 2020. While the electric utilities industry is not against developing renewable energy sources for the future, according to Southern Company spokeswoman Amoi Geter, it maintains that they should be used only “where they make sense,” rather than under a federal mandate.

“We’re moving toward including renewable energy more in our energy mix, but we’re thinking a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t, right now, in our customers’ or shareholders’ best interests,” Geter said, noting that renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are not the same in every state, so implementing a national standard is both unrealistic and unfair.

ELECTRIC UTILITIES

Select Organizations that Lobbied on Energy and Nuclear Power in 2006

Total Lobbying Expenditures, 2006*

Southern Co

$13,300,000

Edison Electric Institute

$11,000,000

PG&E Corp

$9,600,000

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

$4,355,562

USEC Inc

$2,940,000

Xcel Energy

$2,940,000

FPL Group

$2,740,000

TXU Corp

$2,583,287

General Atomics

$2,200,000

Duke Energy

$1,930,000

*Total reflects all issues lobbied on in 2006, including, but not limited to, energy and nuclear power.

Americans for Balanced Energy Choices (ABEC), a nonprofit organization with ties to the coal industry, is also concerned about the nationwide standards on renewable energy use. “Every state will be different and can be different,” Executive Director Joe Lucas said, noting that wind power in Colorado and wind power in Kentucky, for example, produce energy at different rates because of different climate conditions and cannot be held to the same standard. “We believe that continuing to improve the environment and the environmental footprint of the electricity sector does not mean having to forgo access to affordable, reliable energy,” he said.

Energy companies also question whether renewable energy will be able to provide the same constant stream of electricity as today’s fuels do. “A lot of the renewable energy sources are inconsistent in their reliability,” Geter said. With these concerns in mind, electric companies have turned their efforts to Capitol Hill, especially to pro-business allies.

“We work closely with both national parties on issues of mutual interest, and we hope those who support the philosophies we have will support our business interests,” Geter said.

John Moulton, spokesman for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), said that his company has taken a less proactive approach to the bill and has chosen to educate legislators only when they ask. According to Moulton, the adoption of a national renewable energy standard would cost TVA an estimated $410 million in the final year.

The electric utilities industry has donated at least $446,000 to bill sponsor Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) over his career, making him the No. 4 congressional recipient from utilities companies. Electricity distributor Exelon Corp. is Bingaman’s No. 3 all-time contributor, giving him at least $39,000 since 1989.

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